Iron & Wine (The Iron World Series)

by Osmond, Candace

  "It's okay,” I said and kissed him. “I know that I have options. Julie once told me how I could become like her. But I never gave it much thought afterwards. I mean, that's a huge and scary choice. It's irreversible, forever. And, to be honest, I never gave it much thought because I’m lucky enough to even have these magical people in my life at all; I would never expect them to want me around forever."

  Jack then took me by the waist to pull me closer. There was only breathing space between us now and he glared into my eyes with seriousness. "Avery, I will always want you, forever, period. When will you see that?"

  "But why? I don't understand what it is that made you and Celadine choose me."

  "We didn't choose you. The bonds of love are always there, waiting to be awakened. When you walked into that gallery, there was no turning back from there. Celadine felt your presence before you two even met."

  "Are you sorry that it happened? I mean, what she and I share has nothing to do with the bond that you developed for me. But, do you ever wish that it didn't happen? If anything were to ever happen to me, you would have to go through what Celadine did with Derek."

  "At first, I was furious. I hated not having control over myself. But, the moment I met you, I knew. There was no denying that I was meant to love you," he admitted. We were swaying back and forth now, in a slow dancing motion. With me in his arms, Jack slowly rose off of the ground so that we hovered a few feet in the air. I could reach out and touch the fireflies that dimly lit the air around us.

  "Forever?" I asked quietly. The fireflies moved aside, forming an illuminating circle around us as we slowly twirled.

  Jack smiled happily and kissed my lips.

  "Forever."

  The End

  ****

  Read on for a sneak preview of the second instalment in the Iron World Series; Blood & Bone

  The night was chilly and dark. The entire park was a beautiful and eerie shade of a blackish blue. Everything was very quiet, even Jack who held my hand as he walked next to me. I peered up at him and smiled.

  "So, have you given any thought to what we talked about last weekend?" he casually asked, careful not to make direct eye contact with me. I hadn't exactly reacted well to what Jack had proposed just a few days ago.

  "Um no, not a whole lot,” I lied. The truth was I was literally driving myself insane trying to make a decision. I kicked a rock and it bounced off to the side of the little dirt path.

  "Well, do you want to talk about it some more?"

  "What is there to talk about?" If Jack had his way I would be a vampire right now. I didn't want to start talking about it; it would only give him another chance to persuade me.

  "Well, I’m sure you have lots of questions. You always do." He smiled his coy Jack smile at me.

  He was right.

  I sighed. "How would it work? I mean, how would I do it?" I didn't want to talk about it, but I thought maybe it might lessen my obsessing. Maybe if I knew more, it would make my decision easier.

  "Well, you would have to make sure to free up three or four days from your schedule," he joked. “Although, I’m sure your boss won’t mind.”

  "Seriously Jack, I need to know what I’m getting myself into."

  "You talk about it as if it's a choice between a life of crime or something," he answered defensively.

  "No, it's not like that. I just want to know all the facts, not only from you but from Julie too." I hadn't exactly told Jules about Jacks idea just yet; it would be way too hard to deal with this if I had a person from each side trying to persuade me. I know what Jack thinks I should do, and I’m sure Julie would want me to do the opposite. “I mean, how can I be guaranteed to end up like you? What if I turn out to be a horrible monster?”

  “Avery, I am a horrible monster. I just choose to behave.”

  “That’s not true,” I argued. “If it were that easy then there would be other vampires like you and Celadine.”

  Jack was about to argue back when, suddenly, something rustled in the trees next to us. My heart jumped and a rush of goose bumps scoured over me as I focused my eyes on a large yellow wolf making its way towards us. I was shocked by its sheer size. On all fours, its head was level with mine. I panicked and looked to Jack as for a signal of what to do.

  He just stared at the wolf sternly and calmly, showing no signs of running away. "Don't move," he whispered.

  "What?" I whispered back in alarm. "Jack, that's a wolf! We need to run!"

  It began to rain then. I desperately pulled on Jacks arm to get him to run as the hard drops of water beat on my face and hands.

  "Avery don’t, she poses no threat to us."

  I was totally confused and panicked. When I looked to the wolf, it was slowly moving towards me, desperately dragging its injured body down the now drenched path. As it got closer, I could hear its painful panting and noticed blood soaked into its sandy fur. When the wolf was close enough for me to touch, all I saw in its face was a poor, injured animal looking at me with tear filled and pleading eyes. It came tumbling towards me and collapsed at my feet in a puddle of muddy water, nearly knocking me over.

  "Avery..." Jack started to speak, but then the animal began to go into a fit of convulsions. He stepped away and pulled me back with him as we watched.

  "Jack, what the hell is going on? What is that?" I shrieked, clinging on to his arm like a maniac. My hair was drenched and slicked to my face from the rain and I was shivering from either the fear or just the cold, I had no idea at this point.

  "Avery, you’re not going to like this," Jack whispered. He was staring at the wolf like he knew something, something that I didn't, and somehow seemed to know what to expect.

  "What are you..." and my sentence stopped there as I realized what was happening. The blood covered creature began to change. Its sandy yellow fur disappeared and reappeared as it moved up the body, leaving nothing but pale and soft skin in its place. The wolves large joints crunched and cracked with sickening sounds until the arms and legs were that of a human, a human girl, with long blonde hair.

  About the Author

  Born in 1985 as Candace Osmond in North York Ontario, I began to travel with my parents at the very young age of four years old. I had lived all over Canada and seen everything my country has to offer, from the enchanting shores of Newfoundland to the gigantic snow capped mountains of British Columbia all by the time I was ten. I did, however, spend most of my life in Eastern Canada where I was surrounded by folklore and legends, not knowing how they would shape my personality and imagination for the rest of my life.

  Being the only girl of my age in a small group of kids, in an even smaller town, left me spending most of my time by myself and, in result, letting my imagination take over. I would sit by the shore and dream up stories of mermaids and other fantastic creatures to pass the time. Coming from a family with writers and artists dispersed throughout, it was only natural that I spend my time writing, drawing and reading. I dreamed of becoming nothing more than an artist, a creator of any kind. By the age of eleven, I spent most of my waking hours scribbling down short stories, poems and anything else I could think of, while adding my own personal illustrations. By the age of fourteen, I had won numerous minor arts and writing competitions.

  I excelled at anything art and literature related so, naturally, I planned to attend university for nothing more or less than that. In 2003 I was accepted to Memorial University for Creative Writing, as well as, the University of Alberta for Literary Studies. But, with the fear that I would spend all my time and money on an education and end up in a field that I may very well struggle to succeed in, I backed out and attended school for Design instead. Now, a successful Designer specializing in interiors, I met a man and fell in love. His passion and talent for art far exceeds my own, but he motivated me and awakened my old habits of staying up late and waking up early to scribble
down dreams and ideas before I had forgotten them and they disappeared forever.